. >>> senate majority leader harry reid says the senate will take up the gun bill when the chamber returns from recess next month. >>> secretary of state john kerry has just arrived for an unannounced visit to kabul, afghanistan, for talks with president hamid karzai. earlier secretary kerry was not mincing words when it comes to the ongoing civil war in syria. the secretary made some of his harshest comments to date on sunday during an unannounced trip to meet with iraqi leaders in baghdad. he told iraq's prime minister the country must take steps to stop iran from using iraqi airspace as a means to ship weapons to syria. however, after talks described as spirits, no breakthrough was achieved. >> anything that supports president assad is problematic and i made it very clear to the prime minister that the overflights from iran are in fact helping to sustain president assad. >> talks also focused on iraq's transition to democracy as it prepares for upcoming elections at a time when violence is on the rise. >>> back here in the u.s., we're watching a lot of weather. bill karins here with a l